Automobile and other types of pneumatic tires need to be properly inflated for optimum tire life, handling performance and gas mileage. Gas pressure Gauges have been widely available for reading tire pressure. Many of the inexpensive pressure gauges include a pen sized device having a socket on one end for fitting about the nipple of a tire and an extendible metering stick on the other end that extends out from the gauge in proportion to the pressure within the tire. A common problem exists in manipulating and orienting the socket of the pressure gauge about the tire nipple. Often, the user must make several attempts to get a readout. The continuous reattempts to get an accurate reading can cause the unnecessary leakage of air from the tire resulting in refilling the tire based on this air leakage. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,516 to Greenspan; U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,237 to Schrumpf et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,794 to Foss et al.
A large gripping clamp has been proposed for air pump hoses but would not work as an air pressure gage. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,474 to Sigrist. This large and obtrusive clamp requires constantly holding the nozzle and pump connection together to work. Also the Sigrist clamp must be attached to both the nozzle and the pump separately in order to function properly. Other engaging devices have been proposed but likewise fail for not obviating the above identified problems. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,185 to Piper et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,494 to Dockery; U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,240 to Weber; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,948 to Genero et al.